A Philadelphia judge not only was indicted, he pleaded guilty to stuffing the ballot box in favor of democrats for fun and profit. He did it for a full three years in a row. The Department of Justice dropped the hammer, right on his head. “This defendant abused his office by engaging in election fraud for profit,” Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski confirmed.
Guilty as indicted
Domenick DeMuro was a Judge of Elections for the 39th Ward, 36th Division in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At least, he was until he got busted. He pleaded guilty, the Department of Justice announced Thursday, of stuffing the ballot box in three years’ worth of elections. The DOJ isn’t talking about how much time he faces in jail because it’s likely to work out as a life sentence for the 73-year-old.
U.S. Attorney William McSwain got to hold the press conference to announce the two counts he was indicted on. First was “conspiracy to deprive Philadelphia voters of their civil rights by fraudulently stuffing the ballot boxes.” The second charge was “a violation of the Travel Act, which forbids the use of any facility in interstate commerce.”
McSwain took the podium to explain that he padded the vote counts for “specific Democratic candidates in the 2014, 2015, and 2016 primary elections.” He also used a cell phone to commit bribery, which prompted the Travel Act violation.” DeMuro was paid by the voters he defrauded and was “responsible for overseeing the entire election process and voter activities of his Division.”
Certain Democratic candidates
At every polling station, the voting machines generate a printed receipt documenting the use of each machine. This “results receipt” shows the vote totals. It’s the job of the Elections Judge to sign off on the receipts verifying the accuracy. Other Election Board Officials had to sign also. There isn’t any word if they were indicted yet also.
One of the reasons DeMuro caved in and pleaded guilty was so he didn’t have to name the “political consultant” who provided directions on how to work the scheme and “paid him money to illegally add votes for certain Democratic candidates.” Various liberal campaigns hired this consultant in droves. Federal, state and local contests were all rigged.
The candidates would dole out heavy “consulting fees,” used to bribe Election Board members, including DeMuro. Each one got between “$300 to $5,000 per election from the consultant.” DeMuro would “ring up” fraudulent votes on the machines, “thereby diluting and distorting the ballots cast by actual voters.” The added numbers would be reflected in the Election Day results and the DeMuro would certify they bogus counts were accurate.
The integrity of the election is compromised
The way he actually did it, was by “literally standing in a voting booth and voting over and over, as fast as he could, while he thought the coast was clear.” The DOJ calls it “utterly reprehensible conduct.” As pointed out by McSwain when announcing DeMuro was indicted, “Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. If even one vote is fraudulently rung up, the integrity of that election is compromised.”
The federal prosecutor wants everyone to know, “that this investigation is active and ongoing, and my Office is taking every possible step that we can to ensure the integrity of the upcoming primary and general elections in the nine counties of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.”
“Domenick DeMuro put a thumb on the scale for certain candidates, in exchange for bribes,” Michael Driscoll adds. He’s the Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division. “As public trust in the electoral process is vital, the FBI’s message today is clear: election interference of any kind, by hostile foreign actors or dishonest local officials, won’t be tolerated. We’ll, not anymore. Hillary Clinton isn’t running.